The Sword of Uruk is the continuation to the surprisingly good Aegis of Uruk, which aired last year. It left us with quite a cliff-hanger, and it’s in any case worth the watch to see how everything plays out in the end. There are quite a few surprises along the way, but somehow the Sword just doesn’t have the charms of of the Aegis.

But before that, you really have to admire the time that went into developing the background for this series. Six months have passed since first season, and this shows in the character-development. The setting, which sounded so innocent and playful in the first season develops into one of epic proportions, and this really is a series of plot twists. For a fantasy series, the plot’s been quite complex and imaginative, which is something I can really enjoy.

However, at the same time I just don’t feel the things that made the original series great. The Aegis of Uruk was a very varied series: there was an excellent combination between silly adventures, character-development and plot. The Sword of Uruk is much more formulaic, though: the first five episodes or so are silly adventures, and after that the comedy stops completely to make room for the ever increasing drama. It just doesn’t feel balanced at all.

the first season had lots of interesting sites to explore, but only one episode of the second season really made an impression on me like the first season did: the house of the dead. This show succeeds more than ever as a fantasy series, but as an adventure one, it fails to impress, which is a bit of a shame, considering the first season. The ending especially shows this, as it’s a bit too much of a formulaic cheese-fest.

Still, there’s lots to like left in this show. The characters still are as charming as they ever were, especially since they already had a season’s worth of development on their resumes and the animation looks as solid as ever. The second season definitely stands out for different reasons than the first one, but it’s still pretty impressive, although not the charming series it once was.

Storytelling:

7/10

Characters:

8/10

Production-Values:

8/10

Setting:

9/10

3 Responses

the sword of uruk is a pretty good follow up to the 1st season. but the last two episodes were quite disappointing to me. in the 11th episode, during the fight, there was a huge drop in quality of the animation, while the last episode was disappointing bcoz of the unsatisfying ending, and quite a lot of questions were left unanswered.

I think I liked the second series better than the first, but only barely. I THOUGHT I was going to LOVE it, until the last three episodes, when I swear they switched writers or something. The two penultimate episodes were really, really bad, and the final episode made up for it a LITTLE, and I found the ending pretty decent, but it was still a huge drop in quality from the rest of the series to that point – especially the house of the dead episode, which you mentioned in your review, and which I agree was the absolute best episode of either series. So much potential existed in that one episode, and very little of it was realized during the rest of the show.

Still, Tower of Druaga was a great all-around fantasy show, and I’m glad to see that the fantasy genre lives on. (:

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: I'm not wholly against fillers if they are done correctly, sometimes they can be a short moment of peace in a characters hellish life, sometimes they can be amusing or flesh out characters or allow good character chhemistry.

Kaiser-Eoghan
That time I got reincarnated an daikmura in another world =)

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: I remember there is a review somewhere on this blog of an anime adaptation of Les Miserables, I've only seen the film 1990s adaptation though. I wonder if any of those classic book anime adaptations are actually worth watching?

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: I may have sounded like I was being down on Mahou Asuka, the manga became a decent guilty pleasure, I agree with you on action and pace but I prefer the anime designs, though I stopped watching the anime because of the speedlines/animation/pace, the dub is hilarious though.

Vonter
I do wonder if there has ever been stated how much time or pages you have in either medium. Since that was mentioned in the adaptation of Les Miserables, 300 pages to fit all one could of that novel, even joking about how a character only appeared in one page because of that limitation.

Vonter
Overlord is another one I wonder if it might work better as a visual novel. Mainly because the anime is dialogue heavy and where I think it has stumbled is that it has a lot of characters to ever give the needed time to develop each of them. Season 2 had several episodes focusing on a weak lizardman tribe.

Vonter
Mahou Asuka, I think it might work better in manga format. The anime while not the worst thing, drags a lot for what it has delivered. The manga I think it has better art, composition, but it mainly comes and goes way faster. Because it supposed to be more action than narrative in this case. It could be said the same thing of Triage.

Vonter
I've been thinking about the use of time and narrative time in both manga and anime. I suppose the anime studios have to hit a certain number of episodes which demand stretching the run of a story in any way. Filler episode? Several episodes to build up a dramatic scene? Bringing something that doesn't add anything important?

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Lenlo: Actually I can sort of understand how you feel, after I read the flashbacks to dororo's parents , the some chapter after felt a bit inferior to that.

Lenlo
I appreciate the keepin me in check though! Sometimes writing these posts makes me feel I have to be "critical" and I think that can skew my writing at times.

Lenlo
Like I said Kaiser, I feel that whatever Dororo did this week would have to live up to episode 6, and that was a nigh impossible task. I still enjoy the series, it just had a bit of a hitch for me is all.,

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Lenlo: Dororo's anime will give you a confrontation with the brother, curb your expectations with Daigo, Dororo's past is excellent. But it will still do episodic stuff.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: I actually watched it alongside reading those mahou shoujo Asuka chapters due to you putting both in the same sentence.

Vonter
Kinda like the Batman series of the 90s. Which happens to have better stories and characters plus the dark atmosphere.

Vonter
Yeah, it's hard to explain but it's a series I'll recommend in regards to the mood and atmosphere it conveys, moreso than the story or characters. It makes me wish that some other anime with better stories had a bit more weight in terms of atmosphere since I think this one does it with very few elements.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: I remember a mazinger reference in there too, also one of the buildings says Dagon on it, which fits very well I think.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: It felt like a full series take on a ova that I always wanted.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: the 90s artstyle/lighting/atmosphere definitely helped and there was some of the psychological bit in there.

Vonter
Also I might be wrong, but I can't recall a female counterpart that has ever exceeded the original. So by design Devilman Lady has an uphill battle, but I do like that she's not an Akira 2.0 the character has her own conflicts and ore than the monsters it seems to be a duality between her supermodel job and her actual self. Which at least its something.

Vonter
@Kaiser-Eoghan - I'm glad at least it kept your interest. Devilman Lady while not as infuential it's an interesting time capsule of the type of horror in the 80s. It's a bit sci fi and a bit supernatural like the Guyver. What standed out to me was the mood, it sort of leaves you in a trance when it just let the visuals and music immerse you.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Also, Return of the king/Kaiser and stuff, new computer arrived early.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Amagi: I read the recent beastars chapters, though I hope they eventually get back to focusing on Haru x legosi soon.

Kaiser-Eoghan
They finally translated another 7 seeds chapter, I think its nearing its endgame.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: There was a hilariously dumb scene where one of the mascots pull out double guns.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: Some 4channer posted further on scans from magical girl spec ops, I read 5 volumes, doesn't have much of plot, they explained who cyborg guy was and introduced another magical girl villain with a shitty childhood and some obvious hinting as to who The queen is.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: That is isn't the original devilman, nor does it exceed it.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: My spare laptop managed to survive long enough for me to marathoned devilman lady, albeit in SD quality, I enjoyed it for what it was and that it never made a joke of its trashiness, Nagai's imagination in creature design continues to be fun. The only thing I can really call it out n is....

Kaiser-Eoghan
I've been continuing that manga by the author of aku no hana, the one about the kid with the psycho mother, its increasingly threatening.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Also, regarding dororo, there was a chapter in the manga with some lord and a moth woman he unknowingly fell in with, this week was anime original but kind of had a human/monster relation thing going on, the manga was less sympathetic.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I liked the part between yuki and Kakeru , additionally, I'm looking forward to seeing the full background for Haiji aswell. I'm running out of things to say about the show.

Anonymous3444196
This last stretch of episodes is going to be good, so I heard from that novel reader. As long as the production doesn't derail itself, we're in for a treat.

Anonymous3444196
It's pretty obvious that with Haiji being the one running the final section of the Ekiden, that this might be his last.

Anonymous3444196
I do think that there'll be an episode of downtime between the episodes covering the 1st and 2nd days of the marathon. And maybe we'll finally get to see Haiji's past prior to his leg injury.

Anonymous3444196
So there's 5 episodes left, and it'll cover both days of the Ekiden since it's split into two sections. I heard from the novel reader that the 10th and final chapter is over 100 pages long, so having 5 episodes should be enough to cover everything. Shindo's running last in the 1st half but he's got a cold, which does bring some concern.

Anonymous3444196
Seems like a pretty slow week here. Anyhow, in this Kaze ga ,we're at the final stretch before the Ekiden next episode. Really liked Fujioka's speech at the start. They're also starting to unravel more on Haiji's past as well.

Kaiser-Eoghan
ahahahaha so that was it, she is voiced by Kana Hanazawa.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Something that came to mind when watching that quintuplets show, somehow the archetype I ended up going for was Ichika's character somehow. Never usually the case.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Y'know usually its fairly consistent, traits I notice/like/am attracted to most in a character's appearence and then there are those odd cases where I somehow end up finding a character attractive or something that I'd usually never.

Kaiser-Eoghan
New computer on its way now, 24 inch screen, wireless everything, 1000gb, got it for only 800 euro.

Kaiser-Eoghan
The current laptop I've got on loan I'm using is kind of a pain to use, makes doing anything including typing/posting/watching slow, its a ropey old windows millenium edition laptop that I'd stopped using years ago.@Amagi: Also a sequel to legend of koizumi has been translated.

Vonter
The cutscenes in that game kinda look a bit off, like with the Dragon Prince show they look a bit choppy.

Anonymous3425269
Personally, I'm really hoping that Orange did them so they can gain more recognition working on a big franchise.

Anonymous3425269
I'm guessing Orange, Polygon or GEMBA did the CG cutscenes for the new Fire Emblem. They look too different from Echoes' CG cutscenes to come from Khara.

Kaiser-Eoghan
It was always the second Zelda game I never played, that one is frowned upon.

Vonter
I see Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time as two halves of a single whole. Ocarina had the standard story but expanded from what was set in A Link to the Past. Majora's Mask has more in common to Link's Awakening being more about the characters you meet, and even Link himself. I think one has what the other doesn't. Ocarina had better dungeons, but Majora had more involved and menaningful sidequest.

Kaiser-Eoghan
The remastered ocarina of time soundtrack is some of my favourite videogame music out there.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I know its not ranked among the best Zelda games, but links awakening was the first zelda game I played in the early 90s, I also remember they re-released a colour version of it too that allowed you to do extra stuff with the gameboy camera and printer.

Vonter
So Nintendo had a Direct. A sequel to Mario Maker, a remake to Link's Awakening, a Tetris Battle Royale game, a new game from Platinum games called Astral Chain, a school type Fire Emblem, etc.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I guess if I was asked why I did anything, including if it was some game/sport or if I was a runner I'd probably answer the question by saying I was in it for a laugh or for a genuine good time because it'd be something I'd be enjoying.

Lenlo
@Kaiser, Dororo was awesome. This was a great week and arc. Mio is best girl.

Lenlo
Look, if the ending can make it work, I will forgive the CGI runners. But you have to admit, they don't look good

Anonymous3419991
@Lenlo But for now, you'll just have to grin and bear it when the next preliminary races prior to the Ekiden use CG for the background runners.

Anonymous3419991
I heard from a novel reader that the book is 10 chapters long, and this is currently adapting chapter 8. Chapter 10 covering the Ekiden is the longest part of the novel and will probably be covered in 3 episodes. Hope IG is saving all their resources on this finale judging by the CG used in previous episodes.

Anonymous3419991
It's also great to see how far Kurahana has come since the start. Even when confronting Sakaki being arrogant and all.

Anonymous3419991
And so this episode of Kaze ga is a breather episode, but we do get some more character development with the twins. It's nice to see Fujioka again.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Lenlo: I would happily have watched two more episodes of this arc in dororo.

Fuurophausiyuder
Speaking of loving hell fonts, I notice that the review body text, and this text here are both sans-serif; which sort of princess of variable typefaces is not present for this readability bit to land?

Fuurophausiyuder
Dororo is awesome for just the hell fonts. I kind of expect on-brand gazebos (the temple to the 10 demons) to sell well this summer at Lowe's, Restoration Hardware, RH, wherever it is actually okay stuff derives, etc. I was kind of hoping the transitional story would lift all transitional boats, but that storyline has gone to soil microbes in the USA diaspora (though you know, stay classy PR.)

Fuurophausiyuder
Kemurikusa is like Kemeko DX if all the chemicals were fentanyl and the promise of a plot muted by lingering death were only ever expected to be a possibility. What had anyone watching ep. 3...5? Clinical use?

Kaiser-Eoghan
I'm also glad that tv anime like this is allowed to be so violent in this day and age.

Kaiser-Eoghan
To be honest it really is the only new show this season I currently especially care about.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I decided to read the whole Dororo manga and I think this weeks episode was every bit as moving as the manga was while building on it. I think if adapted correctly dororo (the character)'s backstory, the stuff with Daigo's son will be a highlight. I do think they could get rid of shounen shark guy though later on and not bother including him.

Anonymous3415569
The other thing, is how both this and She Ra have the same premise of the main character changing from the villain to the heroic side. I don't know if that's a good pattern but it's and interesting way to build a female character in which the relationship with their old friends is a way to add pathos.

Anonymous3415569
It felt like a new version of inspector Gadget could be do like this. Considering how it frames the criminal organization (for kids). And also maybe a crossover could work?

Anonymous3415569
I watched the Carmen SanDiego Netflix series. It was ok. I did like the simple visual style and Saturday morning vibe. It's clearly more for a younger audience, yet it wasn't that boring. Still all I could think about while watching it were 2 things:

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Bothanons: Issues on both sides of the spectrum.@Wooper: Its the politest take you could get on that premise.@Mario: I think the anime skipped some stuff from the after the rain manga, I should probably read the manga.

SuperWooper
I heard that show was about a teenage girl's crush on an older man. Sounds pretty problematic to me. I'm with the rest of the Internet on this one.

SuperMario
Apparantly the other side of anime fandom (the internet) doesn’t watch Koi wa Ameagari

Lenlo
The reddit anime awards are done! I did it! I was on stream! Oh joy. Can talk about this now.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Niello: I have decided to adopt the same approach for the new True detective season also.

niello
@Eoghan: Exactly my thought three episodes in. I wish I realise it before I picked up the show, because I definitely need to watch those three episodes again.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I want to watch new boogiepop at some point, but I'm just hoping it ends so I can just marathon the show, it'd be too confusing to watch once a week, instead of straight through in one go.

Amagi
Oh I just realize it's the same team as HnK well that explains that.

Amagi
@Aidan: Unsure too about the trailer but it reminds me more of Houseki, qualitywise, and less of all the other bad CGI shows. I have hope. Same with Vinland. Trailer had some CGI and Thorkell's design feels a bit different but aside from that it was good.

SuperMario
Damn, just looked at the teaser of Beastars and I’m hooked. I’m hyped for the show

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Niello: Beastars is a good choice for them yes, as was Houseki no kuni, Majestic prince which they co-made was really underated back when it aired.

niello
I like how Orange Studio seems to have good eyes for manga. And it looks as if they are trying to go for stories that lets them avoid animating normal humans. So, ones that are more compatible with their CG visual. It'd be nice if this lead to some manga adaptation that won't happen otherwise.

Vonter
I think people get too worked up on Shield Hero. While not a great show, I have found it entertaining. I suppose the underdog aspect also got meta. With that said, I think if instead of the heroine reapplying the slave contract they should have made a contract or something like that, that felt one-sided.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I actually have more confidence in the cgi if its done by the houseki team.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Aidan: When I talked to amagi about Beastars I don't think I ever heard your views on it. Also from what I recall you haven't read Vinland?

Kaiser-Eoghan
Years ago I read almost of Yoshihiro's stuff, although I never got around to finishing a drifting life by him, I also read that Mizuki guy manga i mentioned.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I've been wondering about this for a bit, is anyone on here familiar with the Gekiga period/wave of manga from the 50s and 60s to very early 70s? Such as stuff the by Yoshihiro Tatsumi and also Shigeru Mizuki's Onward toward noble death?

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Anon: I was right in there with them waiting to hear the results.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I'm glad that even though it showed then in a top ten list, they weren't up the top of it. Its more believable that way. Also who'd of though a race would be so tense?

Animosh
Also happy to see that the twins will get some spotlight next week. Aside from Musa they've had the least development so far, so they can use the attention. I also like that someone's finally raising the question what the point of it all is. If you have no chance of winning, why compete? It's a valid question, and I'm looking forward to hearing Haiji's answer.

Animosh
Haiji's injury was less of an issue than I expected: he even finished as "best of the rest" (excluding the leading group). Looks like it'll keep simmering under the surface for now. The fact that it was highlighted again probably means it is going to play a big role in the story eventually though.

Total users: 20

Star Crossed Anime Blog

Featured Posts

Welp, I’m back to the normal schedule now so my blogging will be back to normal from now on. My apology for those who waited for my weekly blogs for the last few weeks. For Kemurikusa, episode 6 was a slow one, even slower than its standard (and that says a lot), but the latest […]

Welcome to another week of Paranoia Agent! This week Kon explores different generations, Shounen Bat gets caught and the Old Lady becomes relevant. Lets dive in! After the bumpy reception I had towards last week’s episode, Paranoia Agent bounced back to wow me this week. Production wise, it was incredibly expressive this week. With the […]

Welcome to the big one, the start, the opening moments of Kaze Fui’s Hakone Ekiden! This week Fujioka drops some wisdom, the team learns their sections and Yuki gets some time with Kurahara. Lets jump in! This week was Kaze Fui’s big setup, along with some drops on Haiji’s background. Before we get to either of […]

Hello and welcome to what is, I believe, an anime original week of Dororo! This time we have a sympathetic ghoul, Hyakki dealing with his emotions and a continually worse feudal landscape. Lets jump in! Dororo was a rather disappointing one after last week, to be frank. Story wise there were some interesting ideas and […]

Hello and welcome to the halfway point of Mob Psycho Season 2! This week continues Reigen’s story as he rises high, falls low and comes to an epiphany. Lets jump in! Starting off, Mob Psycho once again looks fantastic. Say what you want about the story or characters, the quality of the animation is undeniable. […]

The treasurer of the student council, Ishigami Yuu, finally got a proper introduction this week. I’d say this episode was his time to shine, but it’s actually the opposite – he’s so preoccupied with Kaguya’s apparent hatred of him (as well as his own social faux pas) that it was actually his time to mope. […]

This week, once again, Paranoia Agent takes another interesting turn. This time we follow the cop who caught Shounen Bat, see a bit into organized crime and watch a man fall apart at the seams. Lets go! So in general, while this episode was interesting and explored some more aspects of society, I wasn’t big […]

For all of you who are disappointed that we didn’t cover the sequel to the show that even Elon Musk watches, I felt that this season of Kakegurui would benefit more from an periodic overview rather than following it week from week. Kakegurui was never about the mechanics nor tense stakes as it relies on […]

Welcome to the feel good relaxation week of Kaze Fui! This time the Twins confront Haiji, they see the track and Sakaki continues to be a dick. Lets jump in! Starting off, this episode was a very subdued one. Similar to Mob, Kaze Fui slowed down this week. Giving the characters room to breathe again […]

Latest Reviews

If there is one thing I have lost watching seasonal anime, it is patience. Every week I expect something to happen, some kind of payoff, to make watching that week worth it. Luckily, Planetes as brought that back to me. Its depth of writing, characters, and general structure belay an anime of a different age. […]

The controversial nature of this shows opening episode may have many turning away from it due to believing it’s nothing but shock value but that truly isn’t what Goblin Slayer is. I will say that the manga may hold some truth to that statement but thanks to some tasteful censoring(Yes, sometimes censoring can be a […]

Zombieland Saga was a show that came out of the gate guns blazing, no one expected it nor did anyone predict it but it left a strong impression when it first aired it’s starting episodes. Originally considered to be another zombie apocalypse anime, it overthrew expectations by turning out to be a zombie idol anime. […]

Let it be known that I’ve never been a fan of Trigger. For me, they’re one of the most style-with-no-substance studio on Earth with a tendency for god-awful fanservice, and total nonsense in terms of story and characters. Yet GRIDMAN completely caught me off guard in the first two episodes, and from there, there was […]

If anyone has been familiar with the first season of Thunderbolt Fantasy, you’d find yourself a lot to enjoy in this second installment. Served as a sequel, but not a direct continuation to the first, viewers don’t need the knowledge of the original in order to enjoy this ride. Thunderbolt 2 carries many trademarks that […]

In the last few years, it’s great to see P.A Works has slowly created their own studio identity, putting more original works with consistent production values. Just in 2018, they produced 4 shows (quite a good number if you ask me), 3 of them were original: Maquia, Sirius the Jaeger and Irozuku. As I said, […]

In the wake of many a school based light novel show this may be the small bits of fresh air was can savor out of this overdone setting. Rascal does not dream of Bunny Girl(Or by its japanese title above) is a series not about rascals or bunny girls but instead about contextualising common high […]

Some days, I wonder what it is with America and anime about organized crime. Baccano!, 91 Days, Blood Blockade Battlefront, all set in America, all involving criminal underworlds. Today, I get to add another to that list in the form of Banana Fish. Much more grounded than the others, it’s story dates all the way […]

According to much of the Western Anime community, this series wouldn’t be relevant for a site like this. Being made in the West by Americans, and English being its first language, many would disqualify it from the start. However I name them all fools for Castlevania, Directed by Sam Deats and Ryoichi Uchikoshi is clearly […]